The invention relates to a device for securing a motor vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1.
Motor vehicles are usually provided with window regulator systems through which several windows of the motor vehicle can be opened and closed by one switch per movable window pane, eg through a service area arranged within reach of the driver.
Particularly in large towns situations can arise where the driver of a vehicle has to protect himself and possible other passengers from attacks from outside by rapidly locking the vehicle. This can be necessary for example with short stops at traffic lights as well as in slow-moving or stationary traffic because such situations can be used to ambush the vehicle and steal valuable items contained therein.
In order to lock the doors in such situations so-called xe2x80x9clock-unlock switchesxe2x80x9d are known. By operating a switch of this kind set in the vehicle near the driver a central door locking action is triggered in the same way that it is also triggered in known way when leaving and locking up the vehicle.
In order to close open windows which likewise represent a weak spot it is necessary however with the known systems always to operate individually the relevant switch for each opened window. This has the drawback that rapid closing of all the open windows when under threat can only take place with a loss of time wherein additional delays can also occur if the wrong switch is operated by mistake under panic.
Window regulators do as a rule for safety reasons have an anti-jam device which detects when an object is trapped between a window pane and a window frame and reverses the movement of the window pane. An attacker need therefore only place an object or part of the body in the gap of the still open window in order to break the closing process and depending on the type of anti-jam device open the window again fully or in part.
Devices of the type already described were therefore refined so that by continuously operating the relevant switch the relevant window can be closed by by-passing the anti-jam protection device. This does indeed have the advantage that in the event of an attack the window is reliably closed; but the danger of accidental injuries does exist if this function is to be used by mistake in an every day situation. It is not natural for the user of a vehicle that the comfort function xe2x80x9cclosing a window with anti-jam protectionxe2x80x9d is triggered by a once-only operation of the corresponding switch whilst the security function xe2x80x9cclosing of a window without anti-jam protectionsxe2x80x9d is triggered by continuously operating the same switch.
In DE 43 20 548 A1 which describes an opening with a motor-driven vehicle side window and with an anti-jam protection device it is proposed for the purpose of securing the occupant from a third party that the anti-jam device can be switched off by an emergency switch. The emergency switch described, which switches off the anti-jam device for the remaining time of an individual closing process, is to be operated, in addition to a switch which triggers the closing process of an individual pane, before or during the initiated closing process.
This process can only be coordinated in an emergency or panic situation with difficulty since the person under attack has to take care of the decentralized closing of each individual opened window with the relevant switch on the one hand and also switching off the anti-jam device with the additional emergency switch on the other.
Based on this prior art the object of the invention is to provide a device for securing a motor vehicle which allows even under stress and panic situations the immediate and secure locking of all the open windows and doors.
This is achieved according to the invention through the features of claim 1. Preferred and advantageous developments of the invention are provided in the sub-claims.
According to the invention three individual processes can be triggered independently of each other by means of one single additional operating element mounted separately in the inside of the vehicle, namely
1. triggering all the door locking devices of the vehicle so that all the vehicle doors can be locked;
2. closing all the open windows through a common simultaneous release of the relevant window regulator and
3. simultaneous deactivation of the anti-jam protection device.
The solution according to the invention thereby allows even under panic and stress situations a rapid, simple and reliable securing of the vehicle.
The term xe2x80x9cdeactivation of the anti-jam protection devicexe2x80x9d thereby embraces all variations for closing the window without the anti-jam function becoming active, thus more particularly both when switching off and by-passing the anti-jam function.
In the solution according to the invention the closing process of the window panes with a simultaneous deactivation of the anti-jam device is indeed only maintained for the duration of the operation of the operating element so that with a break in the operation (eg by letting go the operating element) the closing process of the window panes is accordingly broken off immediately. Despite a deactivated anti-jam protection device a high degree of security is thereby guaranteed against jamming and the accompanying risk of accidental injury to a third party. Opposite this the locking process of the doors already introduced immediately after operating the additional operating element and the subsequent locking of the doors is maintained even when the operation is broken off.
The invention has the advantage that rapid closing of all the open doors and windows is guaranteed without any loss of time. By coupling the locking devices of the doors and windows a simple, rapid and correct handling is guaranteed in emergency cases.
The solution according to the invention also allows a clear separation between the comfort function and the security function. In the comfort function the window panes are in known way opened and closed by means of the associated service elements with an activated anti-jam protection function. In the security function all the window panes are closed simultaneously by means of the additional operating element with a deactivated anti-jam protection device. By clearly separating the two functions, preferably by clearly marking and/or mounting the corresponding structural elements in separate places it is possible to minimize the risk of mistakes during their operation.
In order to increase further the security action it is possible that in addition to the door locking devices the other locking devices of the vehicle, eg boot, sun roof etc are also locked when the operating element is operated.
With an advantageous embodiment of the invention the locking devices of the vehicle (vehicle doors, boot, sunroof etc) are triggered through central locking through the additional operating element.
By combining a device for simultaneously triggering several window regulators with a central door locking system, the circuit for the central door locking can be used simultaneously for the central control of the window regulators, eg the window regulators and locking devices of the vehicle doors can be triggered through common electric leads. An already existing circuit (central door locking) is hereby used for simultaneously closing the windows so that the expense is minimal when providing the central closing device for the windows. Furthermore the latter can be installed afterwards without problem by using the circuitry already contained in the motor vehicle.
The additional operating element is preferably formed as a switch which is in active connection with the drive units of the window regulators through a (preferably electric) circuit assembly. The switch can thereby be formed as a button (eg press button) through which the window regulators are only activated during the time in which the switch is operated by the operator. Closing the windows can be interrupted by letting go the button so that the risk of accidental injury to a third party is substantially eliminated.
The switch can be mounted both in a signal or control circuit and in the supply leads to the relevant window regulators
In an advantageous embodiment the additional operating element is designed as a switch with two switching steps wherein the first switching step serves to trigger the locking devices of the vehicle and the second switching step serves to trigger the window regulators and simultaneously deactivate the anti-jam protection device.
Preferably when operating the additional operating element only the window regulators of those windows which are open are triggered. This can be achieved with the known systems which detect through sensors the end positions of the window panes to be moved and where applicable carry out an end switch-off. Energy is thereby saved and the motors of the window regulators conserved because only the relevant motors required need run up to the end of the entire closing process which is to be carried out in an emergency situation.
In an advantageous embodiment only one additional operating element is provided which is mounted within reach of the driver and/or a front passenger.
However there are also variations where several additional operating elements are provided which are preferably each fitted on the doors and which each trigger by themselves the same processes in the event of and during their activation.
In order to meet the strict safety requirements which are to prevent injuries as a result of the deactivation of the anti-jam protection device the window regulators can preferably only be triggered by the additional operating element when
a) the vehicle door with which the relevant window regulator is associated, is closed and/or
b) the vehicle key is fitted in the ignition lock and/
c) the vehicle engine is running.
With a further embodiment of the invention the additional operating element also activates a signal device. The signals emitted can be for example acoustic and/or optical and can be produced both by means of devices belonging to the vehicle (eg horn or head lights) and by means of separate devices.
The solution according to the invention can also be produced by providing in each of the doors having the window regulators a control device which is in active connection with the additional operating element on one side and with the window regulator belonging to the relevant door on the other. In this case each control device contains an anti-jam protection device which is associated with each window regulator. Furthermore a service area is preferably associated with each control device by means of which the comfort function xe2x80x9copening and closing the window regulator with activation of the anti-jam protectionxe2x80x9d can be triggered.
The additional operating element is thereby preferably mounted within the reach of the vehicle driver and his front passenger respectively, thus more particularly on the inside of the passenger/driver door or in the area of the vehicle dashboard, so that children seated in the back seats do not have access to the additional operating element.
The control devices can obviously also serve to control the locking devices of the vehicle doors.